Sewing-machine.



A. RONTKE.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLlcATloN FILED 00T. s. 1914.

X6 a@ .ffm

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. RONTKE.

SEWING MACHINE..

APPLICATION rlLEn ocT. s. 1914.

1,286,765. f Patented Aug. 14,1917.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIT/VESSES: /IV VE /V TOR A TTORNEY A. RONTKE.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. e, 1914.

1,226,7'65n Patented Aug. 14,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WIT/VESSES:

/N VEN TOI? A TTURIVEV UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT RONTKE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANU-FACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION F NEW JERSEY.

SEWING-MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

Application med october s, 1914. serial No. 865,651.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, ALBERT RoN'rKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to the providing of sewing machines with improvedmeans for inspecting the mass of under' or bobbin thread withoutinterfering with the fabric being acted on, and to this end there isprovided reflecting elements for presenting convenient to the operatorsvision an image of the mass of under thread during the stitchingoperation, the present improved means being directed more particularlyto the lessening of the difficulties heretofore existing in thestitching of spirally directed tucks in an endless body fabric.

A desirable form of tucked web of the character above referred tocomprises a body portion of from 6 to 10 feet in length and preferably27 inches wide whose opposite ends are secured together to form a beltor endless strip, which may be made up of a single pattern or consist ofseparate sections of unlike design dependent upon the character of theproduct desired which, before being submitted to the action of thestitchforming and feeding mechanism, is marked to direct the first tuckin a line slightly spiraled to its free edges so that the tucks arrangedacross the strip will be effected from beginning to end without anyabrupt offset, as when tucking a strip having free ends.

Tucked web as above described is largely employed in the ornamenting ofwomens wearing apparel and for fronts or bosoms in mens shirts, and tomeet the requirements itis the general practice to form an average of332- tucks to the inch for 24 inches of the width of the strip, leavinga margin or untucked portion at each free edge of 1% inches, so itresults that in the tucking of a strip 8 feet long of 84 tucks there iseffected a continuous tuck of 672 feet, and to guard against thepossibility of the under thread giving out unobserved by the operatorand the material advanced* under the needle so as to requirereadjustment before continuing the stitching operation, is the purposeof the present improved means.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specificationFigure 1 is a view in front side elevation, slightly in perspective, ofa sewing machine equipped with the present invention and illustratingthe stitching of one form of product important to its employment. Fig. 2is a perspective view of the front end portion of the sewing machinebed-plate, loop-taker and stand, together with the reflecting elementsone of which is carried by the sewing machine slide-plate and the othersecured to a depending rib forming a part of said bedplate. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, except that the bed-plate is shown seated in oneform of commonly employed power- 4table top to which is secured thereflector visible to the operator during the stitching operation. Fig. 4is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the exception that the reflectorlocated below the fabric being acted on is secured to the cover-plate ofthe table attachment till. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the sewingmachine front slide-plate, together with reector and means for removablysecuring the same.

The present inventlon 1s shown in connection with one variety ofcommonly employed Singer sewing machinel equipped with a needle feed andoperated in connection with an independently mounted roller feed, but asthe means employed for advancing the fabric is unimportant to anunderstanding of the present invention, only` limited reference will bemade to the feedingelements.

eferring to the drawings, 1 represents the bed-plate of a sewing machineupon which is mounted the bracket-arm comprising the arm-bracket 2 andstandard 3, 4 the hand or band-wheel connected by belt 5 with a sourceof power, said bed-plate being provided with suitable edge-guides, as 6,and seated on a frame or stand 7 suitably secured to the table-top 8which latter is provided with a fold-guide 9. 10 and 11 represent upperand lower feeding rollers respectively, between which the endless fabric12 passes in the folding and stitching of the spiral tucks representedby the comparatively fine lines, as 13, said lower feedroller beingoperatively connected with the band-wheel 4 by pulley 15 and commonlyemployed gear members (not shown), as in earlier constructions, thefeeding roller 11 being operatively connected with said lower rollerthrough the gear members as 16. 17 denotes a portion of the loop-takershaft provided at its forward end with the looptaker 18, its oppositeend (not shown) being operatively connected through commonly employedmeans (not shown), with the main or needle-bar driving shaft 19, and 20the lower end portion of the needle-bar provided with the needle 21.

The mirror or reiecting element 22 in i Figs. 2, 3 and 5, is mounted ina frame 23 removably held in a bracket 24 secured by screws as 25 to theunder side of the front slide-plate 26, and in Fig. 4 in a bracket 27suitably secured to the under side of the till cover 28 of the table-top8. The reiiecting element 29, in Figs. 1 and 2 is mounted in a likeframe removably held in a bracket 30 suitably secured to a depending.web or flange 31 forming a part of the bed-plate 1, and in Fi 3 and 4'held in a bracket 32 suitably secured to the under side of saidtable-top, said reflectors being arranged in a plane oblique to theplane of rotation of the loop-taker. 33 and 34 denote openings in thebed-plate and table-top respectively, for presenting the reflectingelement 29 to the vision of the operator and 36 perforations in thebobbin 35 to present to the operators vision the bobbin thread and toindicate when it is nearly or quite exhausted.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the reflecting elementsmay be carried by the machine, the table and machine or secured to thetable independently of the machine, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4,respectively, each having its advantage under certain conditions ofoperation, 'and as the reiecting elements are of necessity, more liableto accidental damage and disarrangement than is common to sewing machineaccessories generally, the mounting of these elements to best meet therequirements is essential to their better utility.

If the machine is subject to being transferred to different positions ofoperation it is preferable to make the reliectors a part of the sewingmachine, but if operating continuously in a given position it isdesirable that they be attached to the table, which lessens theliability of their being accidentally damaged, but if a 'ven opening inthe table is to be employed f1 r operating machines of different classesor for effectin different products, thus making the emp o ent of thereiiectors conditional, it is pre erable to mount the reflectors as inFig. 3, making the reflector 29 a removable part of the table andsubstituting the commonly employed slideplate 26 for the presentslide-plate provided with the reiector.

In the stitching of products of the class illustrated in Fig. 1 thethread-bobbin 35 is manually manipulated to replenish the mass of underthread by the operator passing her hand below the table-top and upthrough the opening in the latter common to the construction of sewingmachine power-tables and treadle operative stands.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis 1. A sewing machine comprising a clothfeeding and stitch-formingmechanism including a loop-taker and a perforated bobbin for a mass ofunder thread, in combination with reflecting elements arranged in aplane oblique to the plane of rotation of the looptaker to reflect animage of said bobbin convenient of vision by the operator, during thestitching operation.

2. A sewing machine comprising a clothfeeding and stitch-formingmechanism including a loop-taker and a perforated bobbin for a mass ofunder thread, in combination with reflecting elements arranged in aplane oblique to the plane of rotation of the looptaker to reflect animage of said bobbin to a point outside the field occupied by the fabricbeing acted on to a point convenient of vision by the operator, duringthe stitching opera:- tion.

3. A sewing machine comprising a clothfeeding and stitch-formingmechanism including a loop-taker and a perforated bobbin for a mass ofunder thread, in combination with reflecting elements arranged in aplane oblique to the plane of rotation of the loop-taker to reflect animage of said bobbin to a point below the plane of and outside the fieldoccupied by the fabric being acted on to a point convenient of vision bythe operator, during the stitching operation.

4. A sewing machine comprising an armbracket and a bed-plate providedwith a cloth-feeding and stitch-forming mechanism, the latter includinga loop-taker and a bobbin for a mass of under thread, in combinationwith reecting elements located below said bed-plate and arranged in aplane oblique to the plane of rotation of the looptaker for reflectingan image of said bobbin to a point below the plane of and outside theiield occupied by the fabric being acted on to a point convenient vofvision by the operator.

5. A sewing machine comprising an armbracket and a bed-plate providedwith a cloth-feeding and stitch-forming mechanism, the latter includinga loop-taker and a bobbin for a mass of under thread, in combinationwith refiecting elements located below said bed-plate and arranged oneat one side ID testimony whereof, I have signed my and the other at theopposite side of the name to this specification, in the presence of yplane of rotation of the loop-taker and obtwo subscribing witnesses..

lique to said plane for reflecting an image l ALBERT RONTKE. 5 of saidbobbin to a point below the plane o Witnesses:

and outside the, field occupied by the fabric FRANK M. WooTroN,

being acted on. EDWARD H. WOODS.

